(CNN) - While the president gears up to address the country and deliver the State of the Union address, GOP presidential hopefuls will make their own public appearances Tuesday.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will speak at the "Politics and Eggs" breakfast in Bedford, New Hampshire. The event, founded in 1996, is considered a "must-stop" on the road to the White House. Candidates from both parties are invited to speak at the series.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Democratic and Republican senators agreed Sunday that the Senate will vote to change elements of the health care legislation passed in the last Congress, most likely through amendments to other bills.

With Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, saying he will not allow a full repeal bill on the Senate floor, Republicans said they will offer provisions that could include repealing the entire law or, if that fails, addressing concerns one by one.FULL POST

(CNN) - Here are some of the most notable sound bites from the Sunday morning shows:

On President Obama's State of the Union message:

"The American people are expecting him to say something about what he's going to do to fix the economy even more than it has been fixed already, keep it moving forward, and to get the unemployment rate down. That's what they are looking forward to hearing about." - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, CNN's "State of the Union"

(CNN) - I love the conversation with General Powell just because he knows so much about so many aspects of the world and of the country. He’s fluent in domestic policy, he’s fluent in foreign policy, and he advises the president. And I think you get a real good sense of where things stand from him. He’s a republican who voted for President Obama, so he was also a good one to talk about tone.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Republican leaders called Sunday for immediate and significant cuts in government spending, while Democrats warned such a strategy could harm economic recovery.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, summed up their respective party's stance on what is expected to be the biggest political fight of the new congressional session.

Washington (CNN) - Three longtime senators who have decided not to seek re-election in 2012 said Sunday that they believe the country is ready for serious bipartisan cooperation on major issues - especially tackling the massive national debt.

"When we begin to act in that way, working across party lines ... then it not only gets things done, but it increases the characteristic American optimism and confidence," independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, told ABC's "This Week." "To raise the GDP, I've been saying, we've got to raise the GDC, the gross domestic confidence."

(CNN) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed President Barack Obama in the 2008 election, said Sunday that while the president has addressed some of his campaign promises, he still has "got a way to go."

He credited Obama with stabilizing the economy, tackling health care reform and working with countries around the world, but declined to give the president a letter grade.FULL POST

(CNN) - Retired Gen. Colin Powell is not prepared to back President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential campaign.

The former secretary of state under former President George W. Bush endorsed then-candidate Obama in the 2008 election, but said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that he will wait to make a decision on whom to support in the next presidential election.FULL POST